


Quiet Day at the Library

by one_go_alone



Series: Modern Middle Earth [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Bilbo Baggins, Awkward Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo is a librarian, Dwarves, Fluff, Happy, Hobbits, Librarians, Libraries, M/M, Modern Middle Earth, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, The Shire, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-16 23:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5845255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_go_alone/pseuds/one_go_alone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He glanced at the clock, and was pleased to see that it was almost two-thirty. It had become his favorite time of day over the past couple of months, and it shouldn’t be too long now...</p><p>Sure enough, the library doors opened a few minutes later, and two dwarrow boys rushed in, heading right for the front desk. Bilbo smiled at them, glancing to the door again as their father came behind them at more sedate pace. If his heart fluttered strangely in his chest, he ignored it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet Day at the Library

**Author's Note:**

> Filling one of my own prompts from [this post](http://one-go-alone.tumblr.com/post/135581448327/heres-my-batch-for-alkjiras-auplot-bunny) on Tumblr. Part of [alkjira](http://alkjira.tumblr.com/)'s plot bunny challenge to come up with alternatives to a coffee shop AU based on our own work/life experiences. Mine were edited quite a bit, but based on RL scenarios:
> 
>  
> 
> _Your sons recently started going to the school a few blocks away and you bring them in to the library every day after school while you wait for your wife to come pick you all up because you only have one car. I love seeing them because your boys are adorable and cheerful and actually pretty well-behaved, and always take a few minutes to tell me about their days at school when they come to sign up for the computers. I love seeing you because you’re hot, and obviously very good with them, but also clearly married and- Oh, wait. They’re your nephews, and it’s your sister who picks you up every day?_
> 
>  
> 
> This is 2000 words of pure fluff. XD

Bilbo sighed, wiggling his bare toes under the desk and looking around the empty reading room. The Hobbiton City Library had its quiet days, of course, but Bilbo was fairly certain that no one had been in at all yet today. He had gotten plenty of work done, certainly, but as nice as it was to have some uninterrupted work time, it was nicer to see people using the library. Still, it was rare that he went a whole day without any patrons...he glanced at the clock, and was pleased to see that it was almost two-thirty. It had become his favorite time of day over the past couple of months, and it shouldn’t be too long now...

Sure enough, the library doors opened a few minutes later, and two dwarrow boys rushed in, heading right for the front desk. Bilbo smiled at them, glancing to the door again as their father came behind them at more sedate pace. If his heart fluttered strangely in his chest, he ignored it.

“Guess what, guess what?” asked the brown-haired boy, Kili, nearly bouncing in his excitement. “Guess what, Mr. Boggins?”

“What, Kili?” Bilbo asked, with a fond sigh. His eyes drifted up to the older dwarf, Thorin, and offering what he hoped was a polite smile. This was more difficult than it should have been, given how handsome the dwarf was, with long, silver-streaked dark hair, a well-kept beard, and bright blue eyes.

“We’re in the paper!” 

“You are?” The librarian blinked at them, his attention fortunately pulled away from ogling their father.

“Here!” Kili’s older brother, Fili, had made a detour by the newspaper table and returned with the new copy of the weekly local paper. He opened it carefully to an inside page, and showed Bilbo the article. It was about the possibility of incorporating Dwarven holidays into the West Farthing Academy’s Cultural Program, given the increasing number of dwarrow students attending the academy in recent years. The article featured a picture of Fili and Kili during the recent Durin’s Day celebration, surrounded by hobbit and a couple of dwarrow classmates.

“We asked if we could celebrate Durin’s Day,” Kili continued, still too excited to stand still, “and they said we could! And Fili and I got to explain everything and lead the celebration!”

“Everyone had a good time,” Fili added, beaming at his little brother.

“That’s wonderful!” Bilbo said, meaning it. The dwarrow population in the Shire had been growing slowly over the past few years, with more of the other race moving out of Ered Luin to the west. Bilbo had heard that their numbers had increased enough in recent years to merit an expansion, and some had chosen to relocate to the Shire, which was still nearby to the mountains. The dwarrow were not quite so secretive with their culture these days as they had once been, and Bilbo was glad to hear that Fili and Kili and their classmates were helping that greater understanding between hobbits and dwarrows along.

“Oh, _Irak’adad_ , you haven’t seen this yet either!” Fili picked up the paper and showed the article to Thorin, who took it from him to peer at with curiosity.

“It’s a good picture,” he said, his Westron good but more heavily accented than that of his boys. “I am glad the celebration went well.”

“Everybody really liked the treats Mama made for us to bring!” Kili grinned and licked his lips. 

Bilbo held back a sigh at the thought of something yummy to eat, and realized that it would be getting on time for tea soon. 

“Make sure you read the whole article, Mr. Boggins,” Kili insisted when Thorin appeared to be taking his time with it. “We’re gonna get on the computers now.”

“That’s fine,” Bilbo told him, “and I promise I’ll read it as soon as your father is done with it.”

Fili, who was already putting his name down carefully on the computer sign-in list, stopped and blinked up at the librarian in confusion. “Thorin isn’t our dad. He’s our uncle!”

Bilbo froze, partly in embarrassment, and partly in... Thorin was the boys’ uncle? But if that meant the dwarrowdam who picked them up every day was his sister and not his wife, then...

His gaze went involuntarily to Thorin, who was blinking at him in surprise. The hobbit flushed red and looked away quickly.

_Don’t be ridiculous, Bilbo Baggins! What interest would he have in a hobbit librarian?_

“Yeah!” Kili chimed in, seemingly oblivious to Bilbo’s reaction to this revelation. “Don’t you know any _Khuzdul_ , Mr. Boggins? We always call him _Irak’adad_ , not _Adad_.”

“Ah, no,” Bilbo admitted, his cheeks still flushed. “I’m afraid I didn’t have the chance to learn Khuzdul when I was in school, Kili.” He didn’t dare look at Thorin again.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” the young dwarf said, taking his turn at the sign-in sheet. “ _Khuzdul_ is hard, but I think it sounds cool.”

“Much cooler than the elves’ language,” Fili grumbled, and Bilbo’s lips twitched up in a smile.

With that, they both headed for the computer tables to deposit their backpacks and get to work on their homework. They were quite diligent about it, at least under Thor- under their _uncle’s_ watchful eye, and then they had a little time to play an online game they both enjoyed before their mother came to get them.

Swallowing, Bilbo gathered his courage and finally looked back up at the older dwarf, only to find Thorin’s blue eyes still watching him intently over the top of the newspaper. Flushing again, the hobbit quickly looked away to his own computer and found something to keep himself busy until Thorin had finished with the article. Then he would probably go sit down and read the Bree paper like he usually did before getting online himself.

Sure enough, the local paper was set gently down on the desk a moment later, folded open to the article about the boys. 

“I apologize,” Bilbo murmured, “I shouldn’t have assumed-”

“It’s fine,” Thorin said, “we share a strong family resemblance. Their father passed away several years ago, and I have been helping my sister to raise them ever since.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Bilbo said, frowning and looking up again, his embarrassment forgotten.

“Thank you,” the dwarf replied solemnly. He inspected Bilbo intently for a moment, opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. Oddly, Bilbo could have sworn he caught a hint of a flush beneath the dark beard before Thorin turned away and hurried over to the newspaper table to take up the Bree Herald.

Swallowing back disappointment, Bilbo picked up the local paper and read the article about the boys properly, trying to let his enjoyment of that push his other thoughts aside. 

_You are entirely too old for a high school crush, Bilbo Baggins_ , he scolded himself, _and ought to be too sensible for one as hopeless as this anyway._

He made a copy of the article once he had finished it, and then returned the paper to its place on the table. Firmly, he set his mind back on his work, only breaking for tea and making sure the boys (and Thorin) had a snack as well. He was successful enough at distracting himself that it was a surprise when the boys suddenly appeared back at the counter to sign out again, their uncle close behind them.

“Oh, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” Bilbo said, blinking at the clock that now read quarter to five.

“Did you like the article, Mr. Baggins?” Fili asked, Kili beaming hopefully beside him. 

“I most certainly did!” He showed them the copied version he had saved, and they cheered. “I hope you’ll tell me about your other celebrations as they come up.”

“We will!” they chorused.

“Bye, Mr. Boggins! See you next week!” Kili waved as they headed out the doors, and Bilbo waved back, smiling. Thorin went out behind them, only offering Bilbo a stiff nod in parting. 

The librarian sighed once the doors closed behind them, grateful now that there weren’t any other patrons, so there was no one to see his expression crumple a little. Curse it all, this crush had gotten much more out of hand than he had realized. At least he could look forward to seeing the boys, even if things between him and Thorin would be strained now, rather than cordial. 

_It’s not like we’ve even spoken all that much,_ he thought, feeling tired and sad, _otherwise I’d have known he was their uncle rather than their father._ He had helped Thorin with navigating some aspects of life in Hobbiton the first couple of weeks after the family had moved here, but those interactions had of course been strictly polite and professional. No, there was little excuse for his crush, and even less hope that anything would come of it. Seeing Thorin as he did almost every weekday, though, made it hard to forget about it or move past it. It had been easier, really, when he had assumed the dwarf happily married.

The bell chimed on the door, and Bilbo quickly pulled himself together, turning to greet his new patron with a smile.

It was Thorin.

Bilbo blinked in surprise, and Thorin didn’t seem to be doing much better. 

“Mr. Baggins. I-” he started, and then stopped again, swallowing. Squaring his shoulders, he started again determinedly. “Do you- Do you get done with work at five?”

“I- Yes?” Bilbo said, confused, but with a tiny thread of hope starting to weave through the ache in his heart. “I mean, I have to close up, and put a few things away, but it will just take a few minutes, and then I have to go to the- I mean, then I’m done here, yes.”

Thorin seemed to take his babbling in stride, and stepped closer to the desk. His strong, thick-fingered hands were clenched into fists, as if he were struggling against something, but that hint of a flush was creeping back into his cheeks. “Would you like to go out? For coffee? With me?”

“Yes!” Bilbo exclaimed eagerly before he could stop himself, heart leaping. “I mean-” He cleared his throat and did his best to rein in his enthusiasm before he scared the dwarf away. “Yes, I- That would be- would be lovely, Mr. Oakenshield.”

If his heart had leaped before, he wasn’t sure what word could describe what it did when Thorin smiled at him. It lit up his whole face, his blue eyes suddenly bright and warm, beaming at Bilbo as if the hobbit had just done something wonderful, rather than agreeing to a simple coffee date. 

“I would like that very much,” the dwarf said, suddenly open and straightforward. “I have been wanting to ask you, but did not think it would be...appropriate. When the boys told Dis of our conversation today, she insisted that I stay and ask you.” He still hadn’t stopped smiling, and Bilbo told himself that he really was going to have to breathe at some point here, in spite of it. “I am glad that she did.”

“Me too,” the librarian whispered hoarsely, and found himself out of his chair and around the desk before he quite realized what he was doing. Once there, with the desk no longer a barrier between them, he hesitated, suddenly less sure of his welcome. After all, he was a hobbit, which meant an entirely different body type from those of most dwarrow, and his feet were quite different as well, and what if Thorin-

Thorin, fortunately, appeared to have no such concerns, and stepped closer to take Bilbo’s hands at once.

“I will leave you to finish your work,” he said, gazing with almost shy affection at Bilbo, “but I will wait for you outside, if that is all right.”

“That would be wonderful,” Bilbo admitted, and stopped trying to hide his own affection (which had probably been a useless exercise to begin with, whatever his Baggins propriety wanted to say about it).

“’til then,” Thorin said, squeezing the hobbit’s hands gently, and then he was gone, heading back out the door. 

Bilbo hurried through closing up and his last duties, half-afraid that it had all been a daydream, and that the bench outside would be empty when he got there....

It wasn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Sappy dorks. <3 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos/comments/questions are welcome!


End file.
